The Eleventh Hour
by Shining Zephyr
Summary: Amity Park has had Vlad Masters as its mayor the last two mayoral terms, no thanks to rigged elections, and Danny is determined to find a way to force him out of office... until he discovers the old saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely" may hold more truth than he once believed. The only question is, how far is Vlad willing to go to keep his position- and for how long?
1. Prologue: Day and Age

**Hi. Welcome to **_**The Eleventh Hour. **_**Welcome to a fan fiction I have fully plotted out. To my first full-blown fan fiction I intend to finish for the first time since I did **_**Lab Rat: Shades of Pain**_** three years ago. To my first actual writing effort for the very first time in those long and painful three years. Yeah, it's a long story in itself; so I'm not going to waste more time and dive into this puppy.**

PSA: This story is going to be updated (_hopefully_) every two weeks. If it gets earlier, then we're lucky. Later, then I apologize. My internet situation is sort of really uncool right now, so. Please just have patience.

**Sadly, I don't own this series, but I do own a huge television to watch it on.**

* * *

Prologue: Day and Age

* * *

"_If you're going through hell, keep going." Winston Churchill._

* * *

_October 2009. Nighttime._

It was impossible to say how many there were; too many to count, to be honest. All he knew was that he had to keep his family safe, the city protected. It was his duty and his job, his call to being a hero in the eyes of many and a menace to those who mattered. He could not fend off all of them, though, and he blearily recognized this fact as he warded off another energy blast in his direction.

Too many coming. One of him. They must have realized this and plotted an attack. Or that crazy fruit loop put them up to this in the process. Either way, it mattered not.

He landed in the street with hands radiating the barest of his own energy and strength. There was no chance he was going to be able to stand for much longer then. Hours of fighting, hours of screams of pain that were only hoarse grunts now. Bloody, bruised, but never broken, he threw up an energy shield in an effort to gain his strength back. It would only last for a short minute or so, but he could handle it. He just needed a breather.

But that one minute was all it took as a powerful ghost ray shattered the shield and slammed into the ghost kid. He was thrown back into the concrete with another grunt, doing his best to stand to no avail.

That was also when he saw them. His parents.

They were staring at the ghost boy as he laid there, the hoard advancing on him first and not even noticing the ghost hunters a few feet away. They were watching as he tried harder to get up, to fight the fatigue, the pain in his body.

They were staring when suddenly, out of the blue, a white ring appeared around his body and split in two up and down his beaten frame to reveal an eighteen year old with jet-black hair, a bloody t-shirt, and ripped pants. The ghosts roared as he was on the ground, his eyes no longer on his enemies—but the two people on the sidelines that could not help but stare at him.

At their son. Danny Fenton.

At the ghost boy they had been so desperately trying to capture and dissect the last few years of his high school career. The one whom they tried to teach, to help grow into a ghost hunter when he was so busy already hunting those that tried to attack the city.

The one who lay in front of him as the hoard of ghosts roared at him and lunged.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

And suddenly, be it a snap or such, Madeline Fenton yanked out her gun and fired with a shrill scream at the invaders. "_Leave my son alone!"_

* * *

_April 2011. Afternoon._

She stumbled back in a daze, shaking her head as the teenager…no. _Man_ stood in front of her now with that snowy white hair. His emerald eyes held a cold fire to them, fists clenched and teeth gritted. "Don't you _get it yet?_ Do you _understand?"_

The woman still shook her head, holding her gun out with one hand shaking. "That's… that's impossible. No. I don't…_how?!"_

"I had an accident," he spoke with a similar ice in his tone. "I had an accident years ago, and it screwed me the hell over. You think I wanted this, _Valerie?_ You think I wanted any of this?"

Gray growled under her breath and took a step back. "Stay the hell away from me!"

Phantom held up his hands with his own angry noise. "I'm _not_ gonna do anything to you! I just want to know if—"

"_I said stay back!"_ she screamed, firing the weapon. The blast connected with the half-ghost's shoulder, and he cried out whilst falling back. "_Don't come any closer, you sonofabitch!"_

She dropped the gun and jumped on her hoverboard, taking to the skies and leaving the wounded man on the ground. Her mind was in a fog; she was in shock.

That… that could not be possible.

_Fenton?_ Danny _Fenton_ was _Phantom._ She almost wanted to kick herself for not thinking about this similarity in the name, but the appearance. They were basically the exact goddamn _same; _yes, their hair and eyes were different colors, but they were the same. The one she had a crush on in high school and the boy she had been hunting the whole time were the same person.

It had been enough of a shock with Masters and Plasmius; she never would have worked that out on her own. They truthfully did not look the same, but Fenton and Phantom? Anyone with a brain could have worked it out.

Except Gray had not. He had exposed it to her in a moment of trust.

Trust.

Gray laughed bitterly as she landed on the rooftop of a building and opened her visor. "Trust… he's got a lot of _balls_ and _nerve_ for showing me that."

How the hell was she supposed to be okay with that? With any of this? She knew she would not be able to face Danny for a few days, _weeks_ even. Not with this knowledge. It was not like she could expose this to everyone. Masters probably already knew, knowing their track record as it was, and his family? Maybe his sister had the idea, but the parents? Those… weirdos?

Gray sat down on the ledge and placed her head in her hands.

She thought seeing Masters a half-ghost was enough of a shock. But this one blew the entire affair out of the damn water.

So what was she actually supposed to do?

* * *

_November 2012. Election Day morning._

Third election running. Third time unlucky for many. Lucky for one.

He knew this city like the back of his own hand now, and the dim thought of if this was actually a good thing or not ran briefly through his mind. He pushed it out of his thoughts, however, closing his eyes in the office and concentrating. In that moment, above the building, twenty floating specters stared down at the flock of people gathering near the polls. Each one of them flew down and took over one person, changing their vote…or keeping said one.

Third year unlucky.

He chuckled grimly to himself as he stared out the window, watching each citizen place their vote not for Carl Barnes, but for him. Vlad Masters.

The company owner of DALV, VladCo, many other companies. Perhaps too many to name right then. But he owned a great deal, and the billions and billions of dollars continued to roll in just as he wanted. He was the richest man in the world, the Billionaire of the Year for almost nine years running now. He would become the mayor of Amity Park, Minnesota once again after today's election, and he was known and feared throughout the Ghost Zone for his alternate half of Vlad Plasmius.

So why was he not satisfied with _any_ of this?

He sat at the desk and folded his hands; elbows perched on the wood as he stared ahead at the door. There had been rumors and whispers of how someone wished to take over Amity that was not him; he had heard them. Not only from the citizens, but the _staff_ was murmuring about it. His three staff members he actually trusted with anything had mumbled about it to one another when they knew he had not been listening.

But he had been.

And Phantom.

The _brat_ was now more than just a simple pain in his side. He was getting older, smarter. Stronger. He was no longer just the _whelp_ or the _brat_ or the _boy; _no, now he was the _bastard_ and the _pathetic hero._ At least, aloud.

He barely fought Daniel these days; Vlad had been too busy perfecting his techniques, learning new maneuvers amongst other things. Even in this, he had been keeping tabs on the other hybrid—how he was losing his ice powers in favor of a more fluid, water-like energy. There were reports of electricity, even. But he refused to believe it until he saw it for himself, and he had a muted feeling this would be happening soon.

It would not be a little inexperienced teenager, but a young man undoubtedly filled to the brim with confidence in himself. Much like how a hero should be.

It had been a long time since they had both had little more than a verbal spat before Vlad threw him out of the office and such. Then again, the mayor had seemed to have gone quiet with his plans for, well…whatever he had been doing. He obviously had not a clue what had gotten into him years ago as well.

But now—now there was a plan… a small plan that had been forming in his mind, and a way to make Phantom suffer. But with it came certain darkness. Certain darkness that would slowly engulf him and make him a shadow of his former, half-decent self he was when he first met the teenager.


	2. Chapter I: Reunion

**This internet situation is still the pits. So is the fact I've become distracted with the new entries in the Pokémon series and a job interview incoming. And headaches. Those are fun. **

**So is slowly curing anxiety and going to see a doctor about my depression and such. Always a bonus, you know?**

**Many lovely thanks for leaving feedback **Invader Johnny, Akasha Rose, tarheelveteran

* * *

Chapter I: Reunion

* * *

_"Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection." Arthur Schopenhauer._

* * *

June 8, 2014. Dusk.

A green flash lit up the suburban neighborhood, followed by an unearthly howl of sorts. There was another burst of light before a figure streaked upwards towards the skies of Amity Park and through the clouds. Another followed it in hot pursuit, shooting energy towards the first and closing in on his opponent.

"Come on already! What the hell gives!"

Phantom's frustrated shout could be heard as he threw another ghost ray at his opponent and snarled under his breath. By this time, he would have had Walker down and out for the count. It was clear tonight, however, that he was having either an off night, or something was on his mind and the like. Either way, he was not succeeding at his task; this much was clear.

No longer the shy and skinny teenager he once was, Danny Fenton had grown up since his years in high school. Things had changed dramatically come college and the like, and his hero duties? Well, to be honest, Danny had gone from part-time student, part-time hero… to full-time latter. The question raged in his mind throughout high school where he wanted to go in the end, and he chose to take a few years off for a while for "mysterious reasons."

It was not until a few years ago that the reason behind his no-college goings became very clear to his parents, and it was a little rough at first. Between the lies for the years in high school and the times Danny had nearly become the one on the table in front of his parents… it had not looked good. Not at all from his perspective.

Too many threats, too much crying, too much pain. Too much emotion on both ends of the spectrum—parents and the ghost hero alike.

"Yer getting' slow, Phan'om!" the executioner cackled as he easily swerved his body from another ghost ray. "_Hah._ Y'gave me more 'f a chall'nge in high school! C'mon, boy, 's go!"

"You—" Phantom flung another ghost ray with a loud snarl and inhaled deeply. Christ. Even at twenty-two years old, he could still be a hotheaded teenager at heart. Or perhaps he never really grew out of the phase. All the same, it seemed to not matter really. Because the plan right now was to get the prison warden into the thermos and get home in time for dinner again. Hopefully.

Seemed more often than not recently that he seemed to miss dinner by more than half an hour.

The half ghost exhaled and closed his eyes before he gathered the energy in his hands and floated in front of his opponent, taking a defensive position of sorts.

He did not appear to hear the sound of an engine roaring behind him, but Walker…

Walker _did._

"_What the hell?!"_

In that moment, Phantom snapped out of his trance and turned around to find his parents' Fenton Spectre Speeder floating right behind him. In confusion, he floated over easily, and the window opened backwards to reveal the driver and companion in the seats. The man almost fell over himself in shock, his voice choking out the clear surprise he had. "Sam?! Tucker?!"

Samantha Manson smirked in her seat, aiming a new weapon that the man _definitely _had never seen before. "Move, Phantom," she ordered smoothly, and he flew to the right before she pulled the trigger. A shot rang out—an actual _shot_ of gunfire—at the ghost, and the bullet penetrated his shoulder. Walker howled in agony, clutching the shoulder and a stunned glance at the three people.

How did _this_ happen?

Tucker Foley raised a brow at the sight of the ghost and tossed Phantom what appeared to be another thermos. "You might wanna use _this,_ dude," he stated, Phantom grabbing it with one hand. "Just. Trust us on this."

Without another thought, the hybrid opened the container and pointed it at Walker. The energy exploded from the canister in a flash of brilliant white light, and in the instant later, Walker was gone and the cap was back on the thermos.

It took a minute or two for Phantom to collect himself and take a long and good look over at his friends. His old companions, Sam and Tucker, whom had run off to college to go and try and live normal lives with no ghost fighting…and now they were right in front of the hero of Amity Park. He gripped the thermos and flew over to the both of them, putting the canister on the seat and grabbing them in a tight hug. "Guys!"

"It's been a long time," Sam grunted as her friend grabbed hold of her and held her close. "We've been busy, but… from the sound of things, you have too."

Tucker had to chuckle before patting Phantom's back. "We have got to catch up, man. It's been _forever._ And I'm not even tryin' to exaggerate. But hey! You know what that means? Team Phantom is _totally_ back."

Phantom released them both, a goofy grin on his features and a nod. "Definitely."

It felt strange; Phantom had not seen the both of them in so long, what with Sam moving to get a Bachelor's degree and Tucker doing the same. They had really done their best to keep up with one another, but it really did not worked out all the time in their favors. With Tucker always in homework, Sam doing her best to keep up with promoting her vegan ways, and Phantom keeping the city safe, it was a wonder they ever talked at all.

The idea that they had not seen one another in so long made the silence almost deafening. For a moment there, the three of them simply stared at one another.

Finally Phantom waved a hand. "C'mon. You had to have gotten that from Mom and Dad and stuff. Let's get home. Maybe we can have you guys for dinner—if you're good with that."

Sam's face split into a genuine smile, and Tucker nodded vigorously.

* * *

There were many days when Vlad Masters liked to believe he was a normal man—a normal man in a city of ghosts and hybrids. And then he heard the voice in his head telling him otherwise and realized that he really was not. It did not terrify him so much as snap him out of a delusion he had been living in for so many years. That he _was_ just normal.

The voice in the back of his mind would come and say otherwise, and he would be back in his office alone and listening to said voice.

One from so long ago and yet…

It was quiet that night as the mayor sat there gazing at the papers on his desk and rubbing his head. Good Christ. He reached for the aspirin in the drawer next to himself and sighed heavily, opening the bottle and tapping out two pills into his hand.

"_Another headache, Vladimir?"_

He stopped and looked up and around for a brief moment, grabbing the water next to the penholder and took the pills. He placed his elbows on the desk and his head in hands, quiet. "…again?"

The voice snickered sinisterly and purred low in his ear. "_Naturally. It's been a long while since we've had a chat now, don't you think?"_

"What the hell do you want?" he whispered with his eyes closing and doing his best to keep quiet. "Why are you here? What do you want with me?

"_It should be obvious. I want you. I want __**us**__ to wipe the slate clean. I want to be sure there are no traitors here within our midst."_ If the entity in his mind had a physical body, it would be circling him right now with that soft voice. "_You feel it as much as I do. You __**know.**__" _It seemed to lean in and get closer. "_They want you gone as much as __**he**__ does."_

In this, Masters clenched.

Daniel.

The boy had been a thorn in his side for years and years, and he still was in a much more subtle manner these days. He really had not engaged in a fight with the boy for a long while now—a few months? He had not kept track. But something had to be off if Danny was not instigating anything. If _Phantom_ was not doing anything either…

The thought made a spike of worry shoot up his spine, and he shook his head for a moment whilst clutching his head tighter. "Dammit…!"

The voice seemed to chuckle softly and easily slip away into the dark recesses of his mind after this silent realization, leaving the mayor alone again with some rather dark thoughts.


End file.
